Customer Reviews

The Music Lovers [VHS]

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

This is probably Ken Russell's best film after "Women In Love." It is truly unfortunate that only a pan-and-scan video is available; the brilliant opening "Winter Carnival" sequence, which introduces all the main characters - AND establishes their relationships, without a word of dialogue! - is particularly damaged by the cropped aspect ratio. Chamberlain was never better, and still in his physical prime, and Jackson is briliant as always. This is worth the price just for the drunken honeymoon train-ride scene. Why in God's name this isn't on DVD is beyond me- Chamberlain's fans alone would put this one in the black! Hellooo MGM, WB or whoever owns this title now, we're waiting for a widescreen transfer!

Ken Russell is one of the most underrated directors in cinema, and although his later output does not reflect the great potential he possesses, it is his earlier films that showcased his true talents in their unique and controversial style.
Russell was instrumental, along with directors like Lindsay Anderson and Nic Roeg,in giving British cinema its own more subtle version of 'nouvelle vague' in the early 70s.
His great passion for literature and classical music was a constant source of inspiration,from his adaptation of D.H Lawrence's 'Women in Love' his most acclaimed film to date, to his biographies of Elgar,Liszt, Mahler and Tchaikovsky.
The British film establishment along with almost all critics liked nothing better than to dismiss Russell and his films as pompous and over indulgent.Micheal Winner has always had his share of these snide reviews and remarks, but although he is a remarkable socialite and bon vivant, his direction talents can not be compared to Russell's at all ,thus making the cold shoulder the latter received totally unjustified.
Music Lovers, was one of the first films I ever saw, and it was largely responsible for two main developments in my life,
my love and appreciation of classical music on one hand, and a passion for cinema that remains as strong and vibrant to this day on the other.
It is a biography of this greatest of composers,Tchaikovsky, like nothing you are likely to see..Amadeus was majestic and grand..Beethoven's Immortal Beloved was too polished...Russell in Music Lovers gives us a biography that is troubled, anxious, raw and unashamedly personal.
The crazy camera movements, the use of music both as part of the plot and as a background, the emphasis on an aspect of the great composer's life rarely written about or known:
Russell in Music Lovers was able to show the viewers the human with his failings, successes and indulgences that were behind the creative genius, and the agony, despair as well as joy behind the music.
Critics have slammed the film as an bombastic emphasis on Tchaikovsky's homosexuality, but they did miss the point totally..for I believe Russell was not trying to talk about the composer's sexual orientation, rather more about the demons that haunted him and the confusions and anxiousness that followed him throughout his life, his loves, disappointments, and friendships and from which many masterpieces came to life.
I loved the fact how cleverly Russell uses the music to enhance the drama and the mood of the his film: in a way the music of Tchaikovsky speaks in itself the story of its composer..this Russell I believe understood very well and used it to his benefit.And of course it is safe to say that Richard Chamberlain as the Russian composer gave his best performance to date, while actress turned politician Glenda Jackson who worked with Russell on Women In love,is one of the best actresses in the world, in the Rampling-Dench-Redgrave league, and had she not chosen a different career, I am certain she would have delighted cinema lovers with many more great performances.
The sad fact that Music Lovers is not yet released on DVD just confirms how underrated that great director is. At a time when really awful films get a two disc releases with tons of extras, classic films such as Music Lovers, remain out of stock and out of sight to cinema lovers everywhere to be seen again or rediscovered. It is time to give this film a proper release, and its director the recognition that he truly deserves.

No film critics seem to like THE MUSIC LOVERS, and Cinebook even scored this film 'zero', claiming that this film should be avoided by all 'music lovers'. The film's focus on Tchaikovsky's homosexuality has always been considered inappropriate. While Cinebook scored 5 stars to AMADEUS which places emphasis on Mozart's impudent and vulgar character, I think it should be fairer to this film. THE MUSIC LOVERS is not up to Ken Russell's other masterpieces like WOMEN IN LOVE, but in terms of film-making, this is a marvellous film. In the film's opening, Tchaikovsky (Richard Chamberlain), playing wildly with his sleigh, has a brief encounter with Antonina Milyukova (Glenda Jackson), later his wife. This opening is simply as witty as David Lean's DOCTOR ZHIVAGO, where Omar Sharif has a brief encounter with Julie Christie on a tram in the beginning, not realizing at that time that this is the woman who will become part of his life. Indeed, this is how THE MUSIC LOVERS brings these two important characters together, Nina attending Tchaikovsky's concert, imagining herself having a good time with the soldier she loves, who later turns out to be an abuser. In Nina's imagination and with the 2nd symphony as the background music, Tchaikovsky shoot the soldier dead in a duel for Nina, and the two embrace. Audience will learn that this is Tchaikovsky's fantasy too, resulting in their marriage, which soon becomes disastrous. Throughout the film, Tchaikovsky's music is combined with perfect editing. His 6th symphony is used in the scene on a train, where Nina gets drunk and takes off all her clothes while Tchaikovsky feels sick as he sees Nina's breasts and vagina. The montage here alternating between Tchaikovsky's face of agony and Nina's body is simply perfect. Symbolism is also the key to success for this film. In the house of Madame von Meck, Tchaikovsky's secret subsidizer, fireworks form Tchaikovsky's face, and this is when Madame von Meck finds out about his homosexuality. The fireworks become dimmer and dimmer, signifying the end of their relationship. Now he has to compose without subsidy, and this comes the climax of the film, the use of 1812 Overture, in which we watch Tchaikovsky's fantasy of getting rid of all the people in his life, the canons being used to blow off their heads one by one, again done through the best montage ever. THE MUSIC LOVERS is not at all faithful to Tchaikovsky's life, but which biographic film is? Even LUST FOR LIFE has received the same criticism. When you watch THE MUSIC LOVERS, I think you should be looking for more than just the story itself. Anyway, I have read about Tchaikovsky in encyclopaedia, and I don't find THE MUSIC LOVERS that untrue. The film is not one of Ken Russell's masterpieces, but certainly one of his most stylish. Also, I am convinced that a first-class actress like Glenda Jackson, who won an Oscar just a year before, in WOMEN IN LOVE, would not have agreed to act in a film which she believed to have a bad script. She really sacrificed a lot for this film. Besides showing her breasts and vagina, she even cut almost all her hair for the asylum scene by the end of the film, and this is unquestionably Glenda Jackson in her ugliest. I think such sacrifice should have at least earned her an Oscar nomination, but of course, she was already nominated for another film, SUNDAY BLOODY SUNDAY, that very same year.

is this film not on DVD? And, for the record, what about The Devils? Ken Russell was the most courageous and daring film-maker of his or any generation. His films were, and still are, waaay ahead of their time. There's no way anyone would touch that subject matter today. In an industry filled with formulaic scripts and passionless, bland, Winona Ryder-esque acting, his films were the jewel in the crown, the needle in the haystack. We desperately need more writers/directors/producers with his uncompromising vision and storytelling talent.

You shouldn't expect a straightforward, orthodox approach from director Ken Russell. The imagery is quite striking, and the combination of images with music (conducted by Andre Previn)is captivating. Released in the 70's, this was one of the first mainstream films to deal with the homosexuality of a historical character. Based partly on the correspondence between the composer and his patron, the plot does become speculative and a bit sensational. Some of the sexual imagery is quite bizarre. Richard Chamberlain is handsome and brooding (he had recently portrayed Lord Byron); Glenda Jackson goes mad with style. For adults or very mature teenagers.

Peter Tchaikowsky (1840-1893) is arguably Russia's greatest composer/pianist/conductor.His life was filled with heartache,trauma,emotional instability,near madness,perfectionism and most of all the inability or unwillingness to accept his homosexual nature. His music IS all about emotion. His works triumphantly and tragically are mirror images of his life, and therefore to understand his life IS to understand his work. Tchaikowsky always searched for love. Upon the unsettling death of his mother from cholera when he was but a child,Tchaikowsky began a decent into melancholy and desperation that would remain and worsen for the rest of his life.Documents reveal his "incestuous affair" with his sister Sasha, his hasty/manic marriage to an absolute "loon" that was disastrous for both of them,an unsuccessful "suicide" attempt, a brother content to ride on Tchaikowsky's coattails for gain and comfort, and a long standing homosexual relationship with one Count Anton Chilusky in a time when to be homosexual was complete ruination. Through this all, one wealthy widow, Nadia Von Meck, insisted on being his benefactress so that he could devote all of his time to composition "for her pleasure." He rose from the bourgeois class. He even received a stipend for life from Czar Alexander.He died tragically and, as later documents uncovered eight years after this film was made revealed, from something far more sinister and disturbing.

Every bit of this is compelling enough for a film of grand scale, but how to capture the torture and immensity of it all is totally another thing. Ken Russell, as only Ken Russell could do, DID IT, and boy-oh-boy with what flare!!! Ken Russell tells Tchaikowsky's "bi-polar" and woefully
lamentable struggles by crafting a jolting collage of emotionally beguiling images tied expertly to the composer's music (Evgeny Onegin,The 5th and 6th Symphonies, 1812 Overture and Swan Lake Ballet) in order to ignite the screen in sound,color,pain,euphoria,disgust,triumph and despair.We feel every ounce of pathos; we are repelled by the sight of his wife's bare breasts as she tries to seduce her impotent husband; we are wooed into the forbidden world of his longing for his married sister Sasha;we are repulsed by Madame Von Meck's "orgasmic" reactions to Tchaikowsky's music;we are disgusted at Peter's "ne'er-do-well" brother Modeste in his attempt to rise along with Peter's fame,but not to share Peter's struggles and woes; and we are troubled by the spurn that Count Chiluvsky feels and his manipulative ways to convince Peter to come to terms with his own nature.In fact, everyone WANTS And needs Peter Tchaikowsky AND HE DOES NOT KNOW HOW TO WANT OR, NEED THEM!This is the true pain that cries out in Tchaikowsky's compositions and Ken Russell expertly makes us feel and comprehend each raw emotion -almost exhaustingly so!!! Though I try to express my opinions on this film, words,even though I have to use alot of them,STILL ARE TOTALLY INADEQUATE to express the magnitude and depth of this masterpiece!!!

The sheer breadth of what actors Richard Chamberlain and Glenda Jackson produce on screen as Tchaikowsky and his wife Antonina is almost beyond any human comprehension. They must have been totally spent after this film. Rarely is SO much emotion displayed in all of it's ugly rawness.Russell brings out everything that his actors have in order to tell this story so vividly. There is NOT ONE restrained performance in this film. It is an all-out blow-out that brings standing ovations and accolades to all involved.


Andre Previn conducts the London Symphony orchestra. The sound is crystal clear and booming.Chamberlain is a pianist himself, so the "finger syncs" are perfection!( As a musician,myself, this is always of critical importance!)

One DOES NOT need to know ANYTHING about Peter Tchaikowsky to "get" this film. To know his life and his music DOES though only enhance all of the nuances that Russell so accurately researched. In fact, this film is SO multi-layered that even over the 37 years since I first saw it there is always something more and something deeper that I understand and see. This is a film to be viewed over and over again for it's story,concept,execution,style and acting. Like Tchaikowsky himself, Ken Russell is a filmmaker's filmmaker. In this film, GENIUS RECOGNIZES GENIUS!!! The viewer is laid emotionally prostrate.

Andre Previn's TCHAIKOWSKY: THE STORY OF THE SYMPHONY is an outstanding documentarian approach to Tchaikowsky's life and artistry.Previn is an expert on Tchaikowsky and is well respected for his knowledge and interpretation of The Russian Master.


Other companion films that are at the top of their genre concerning classical composers are Ken Russell's MAHLER (Gustav Mahler),BRIDE OF THE WIND (Alma Mahler), AMADEUS (Mozart), IMMORTAL BELOVED (Beethoven), VOICES FROM A LOCKED ROOM (Peter Warlock), SPRING SYMPHONY (Clara and Robert Schumann), ALL THE MORNINGS OF THE WORLD (Colombe and Marais) and to a lesser degree CHOPIN:A DESIRE FOR LOVE (Chopin) and IMPROMPTU (Chopin and Liszt).

Films that discuss intelligently the plight and struggle of homosexuality would be MAURICE, TOTAL ECLIPSE and LOVE IS THE DEVIL.

For skillfully interpreted films that display piano virtuosity I recommend highly THE COMPETITION and SHINE.

A wonderful film. It's a mistake to criticize the overblown style. Russell was directing in the style of the MUSIC. The acting is intended to be as coarse and overwrought as Tchaikovsky's music, which is featured in a masterful way. Some of the video-to-music editing is incredible. Admittedly, the film does eventually go over-the-top when Glenda Jackson goes mad, but the film makes a great effect.

An average rating of just 3 stars for Ken Russell's cinematic masterpiece? Scandalous! From beginning to end, this film is an extravaganza of visual delights and narrative verve, as rich and dramatic as Tchaikovsky's music. Every performance is effective, Melvyn Bragg's screenplay is pacy, intelligent and witty. The Music Lovers is quite simply a tour de force, a must-see movie. [....]

If you want to surprise someone, including yourself, you should watch this film.It's simply yet another masterpiece by Ken Russell which has been kept away from the public. Richard Chamberlain in his best roll ever!

Ken Russell's most fully realized, gloriously and thematically integrated film (although some make a good case for The Devils, see the Joseph Gomez book) is FINALLY in letterboxed widescreen DVD! No more pan-and-scan!

Those not fortunate, as I was, to see it in a theater (it was once popular on the art-house/revival circuit) can now see that when Nina has her panic attack, her mother is also in the room, saying nothing, looking at her from behind with knowing disdain; that Madame Von Meck has both twin sons on the couch when we first meet them, and on either side of her in the carriage when it passes Tchaikovsky in the forest, each son turning to look down at her swoon with pity and alarm (a good laugh in the theater), the parallel of Tchaikovsky and Chiluvsky on either side of Nina at the outdoor Swan Lake ballet, the full scale of the thrilling winter festival opening sequence, and the satisfaction of seeing the full lush design. Watch how a former TV director stretches a low budget to appear lavish!

Not being an audiophile/videophile, I can't speak with technical precision to the look and sound, but while no extra effort seems to have gone into remastering or cleanup, a quality print was used, and the sound is markedly superior to the VHS tracks. I'd quibble with the mix for the 1812 Overture sequence, the orchestra too quiet under the cannons. Included is the interesting theatrical trailer, but no other extras, and no chapter divisions -- you can only navigate forward and back at 10-minute intervals. But so what? You need to watch it all from start to finish, the way David Lynch likes his DVDs to be watched, eliminating divisions entirely.

To be fair, one Russian's take: a dear friend of mine from Kazan, taking up my probably tactless invitation to watch, questioned the whole point of the film. Putting aside her annoyance at the knock at her country's greatest composer (an old friend is from Tchaikovsky's home village), she asked what we gain from this portrait? That when he composed his piano concerto, he was thinking of his sister? Etc. I gave her Russell's own answer, and the reason the film isn't titled "Tchaikovsky": it's really about dreamers, and their need to live in dreams to the avoidance of engaging with their lives, or drive themselves to bring gauzy dreams to life, and spoil or ruin the lives around them. Russell's immediate inspiration was the false reality in TV commercials, and the piano concerto/sister fantasy a deliberate mockery.

And it's STILL seductive, of course! Which lends the film its immense visual and emotional impact.

The hazy, dewy memory of Tchaikovsky as a little boy playing piano while his beautiful, beloved mother sings, kisses and praises him with shining eyes and the prettiest, most loving smile I've ever seen on film, is followed by his panic and horror at being carried out of the room when she dies from cholera, blighting his entire emotional life, it would seem.

(This answer didn't persuade my friend. I gather that Russians are more realistic generally than Westerners, and less apt to lose themselves in romantic fantasies. So it's a film for us, about us, as The Devils was really about the modern political era, not 17th-century France. But she loved Savage Messiah, Women in Love, and The Rainbow.)

Anyway: GET THIS DVD -- spread the word -- do not let this near-masterpiece be forgotten!

Russell recently had a stroke or TIA, and may not be with us much longer. There will be a burst of interest when he finally passes, may it be delayed (he's still working!) but will likely fade thereafter. When he visited the Dallas USA Film Festival to show off The Fall of the Louse of Usher, I had the pleasure of standing up and informing the crowd that Francis Ford Coppola had said he intentionally shot Apocalypse Now in Russell's style. To which Russell responded, as I expected, "I wish I had his budget." I also pointed out how so many younger directors and editors have adopted his style, whether they realize it or not. Maybe they think they take after Orson Welles, or Ridley Scott, or Paul Greengrass, or music videos.

I'm getting one for my musician sister.

While you're at it, get the Savage Messiah DVD too. Not just for the chance to see a voluptuous young Helen Mirren totally nude, with Henri's hilarious rejoinder to her silly artistic fantasies; it's 2nd only to The Music Lovers, in my opinion